India, US to hold sector-specific talks to finalize trade pact in coming weeks

India and the United States have decided to hold field-specific dialogue in the coming weeks to finalize the proposed structure. Bilateral trade agreement (BTA).
The decision comes after four days of discussion between senior officials of the two countries, which concluded on Saturday. According to the news agency PTI, till April 2, the major trading partners including India have talks in terms of USA threat to impose mutual tariffs.
The Ministry of Commerce said that these experts-level busyness will almost start in the coming weeks, soon pave the way for a person’s conversation. The purpose of both sides is to realize a mutually beneficial, multi-regional BTA, with the goal of finalizing its first installment by 2025 (August-September).
The proposed agreement attempts to increase market access to goods, reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers and increase supply chain integration between the two countries.
An American delegation led by the Assistant American Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brandon Lynch visited India to finalize the conditions of the proposed treaty, aimed at exceeding 500 billion USD by 2030 bilateral trade. The two sides expressed their commitment to finalize the BTA in the coming months, which is the sect with the sect with the agreement with the agreement.
Discussions are a continuation of the visit of Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal for Washington from 4-6 March, where he met with American Trade Representative Jaimison Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik. In addition, video conferences were held to follow the talks between the two sides.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “a very smart man” and emphasized that the tariff talks “would work very well between India and our country.” Trump’s comment is important that his criticism of high tariffs imposed by India and other countries on American goods. He has threatened to impose mutual tariffs on business partners including India starting on 2 April.
In a trade treaty, two countries usually reduce or eliminate customs on most of the goods made between them, reduce business norms for services, and promote investment.
The US has demanded duty concessions in areas such as industrial goods, automobiles, wines, petrochemical products, dairy and some agricultural commodities such as apples, tree nuts and alfalfa hee. There is a possibility of focus on duty cuts in labor-intensive areas such as labor-intensive areas in India, although its negotiaters are unlikely to include dairy and agriculture in business discussion due to political sensitivity in India.
Indian exporters and industry groups have expressed concern that USA mutual tariffs can damage their interests, as the US is the largest trading partner in India. There are also calls for India to take exemption from these tariffs to reduce the potential impact.
India’s exports to the US include drug formulation, telecom instruments, precious stones, petroleum products and prepared textiles. Meanwhile, India’s main imports from the US include crude oil, petroleum products, coal, cut and polished diamonds, aircraft and machinery.
In 2023-24, the US was the largest trading partner in India, with a total of 119.71 billion USD bilateral trade, including USD 77.51 billion in exports and USD $ 42.19 billion in imports, resulting in a 35.31 billion trade surplus. In addition, the US has been a major source of foreign direct investment (FDI) for India, with an investment of USD 67.8 billion in investment from the US between April 2000 and September 2024.